Fences by August Wilson: Life of the Author (Book Review Sample)

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“Fences” by August Wilson
Life of the Author
The playwright was born on April 27, 1945, as Frederick August Kittel to the family of Frederick Kittel and his wife, Daisy Wilson-Kittel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Wilson had a humble beginning; the family of seven lived in one house which had two rooms and lacked hot water. When Wilson was about fifteen years old, his parents divorced and he went to stay with his mother and step-father in Hazelton, Pittsburgh.
Wilson’s mother taught him at home and he, therefore, learned to read before he started school. Wilson‘s brightness enabled him to get a card when he was only five years old. However, he faced a lot of challenges as he was growing, with the main challenge being racism; Wilson faced a lot of racism, for instance one particular time when he wrote a good paper, he was accused of plagiarism by his teacher who believed that a black person was not capable of coming up with such masterpiece. Wilson later dropped out of school and he started to learn by himself at the Library of Carnegie in Pittsburgh. It was in Carnegie Library that Wilson started reading the works of other African writers.
Wilson main influence in Art is Romare Bearden, who was a renowned painter. Some of Bearden’s work such as the Piano was an inspiration to Wilson when wrote the play “The Piano Lesson.” When he was about 20 years old, Wilson knew that he his desire was to be a writer. He purchased a number of typewriters which he used in composing and submitting works of poetry for publication. Wilson later partnered with a friend and established a theatre company in his place of birth.
Wilson later moved to St. Paul, Minnesota to take up the post of a paid writer where he made adaptations of Native American stories. He also played a huge role in writing script for writers. Wilson wrote his first play while he was in Minnesota and won a Jerome Fellowship which made it possible for the production of the play.
After gaining some experience in theatre and arts, Wilson decided to develop a new plan to change his career. He started researching and documenting the struggles of African-Americans since 1900. He documented the struggles by the use of plays. One of his plays, “Fences” won him the Pulitzer Price for the works on drama.
Significance of the Title ‘Fences’
The title ‘Fences’ is very significant as it assists the playwright to pass across his message. In the play, the title, that is, fences, serves a number of purposes which contribute to the main theme of the play. Normally, the main purpose of a fence is to keep people out of a place or prevent people from leaving a place, simply put, a fence should keep some people in and other people out. The significance of this title has been discussed at length below.
Throughout the play, the reader comes across a common fence that is being built by the characters around themselves and around other people. A physical fence indicates possession, and this act in the play is just but a different version of the American Dream of owning homes (Barnet et al 122). Creating a fence around one, therefore, is a way to lay claim to the ownership of a property and it determines which people can leave and those who are not allowed to enter.
A good illustration of the use of “Fence” as a significant title can be found in the play such as a rule that bars the African-Americans(Troy) from participating in baseball. This restriction on what one can do and cannot do is a form of a fence that was created to keep the African-American in their place economically and socially.
Another form of a fence in the play is the one people create between each other. For instance, Rose Maxson and Troy Maxson have a fence that separates them. It is because of the fence that Troy cannot confide in her his feelings and emotions in the way that he does with Alberta. Another illustration of fences that people create between themselves or for other people is when Troy tries to be protective of Cory because he believes that Cory may fail.
The playwright, August Wilson chooses to use the title “Fences” in his play as a symbol. The title “Fences” has been used as symbol in various instances of the play. Three of the clearest examples in the play indicate that the word ‘fence’ is used to represent a form of protection; the relationship between Troy Maxson and Rose Maxson, and that of Troy with Mr. Death. Other instances where the title has been used are; when Rose calls for protection against Troy who on the other hand needs a fence to keep him away from death.
“Fences” is centered on building fences around the characters and, helps the reader of the play to have a better grasp of what is going on in the play. In the course of the play, the readers get to see the way the protective “Fences” are used by the playwright to protect each of the characters. In Act 1, Rose forms a fence which she uses to protect herself when she chooses to sing a religious song to Jesus “Jesus, be a fence all around me every day. Jesus, I want you to protect me as I travel on my way...” (Wilson 21) When Rose chooses to sing the song, the reader can observe that Rose prays for protection, in this case, to be protected by Jesus. To Rose, Jesus is her protective “Fence.”
On the contrary, both Troy and Cory sees the fence as a burden, bono shows Troy that Rose want the fence for her protection and the protection of her family as he tells Troy that some people create fences around them to keep other people out of their lives while others build fences to protect their loved ones (Wilson 61). When they are talking about the Project, Bono questions Troy’s act of choosing a hardwood over softwood and Troy informs him that he had preferred hardwood because he believes that the hardwood would protect him more than the softwood (Wilson 60).
Another instance of the use of fence in the play is the relationship between Rose and Troy. The relationship between the two is symbolized by a cake that Rose bakes for their Church. The fence in this case is the cake which separates the two since Rose is commitment to church while Troy is not. Troy betrays Rose and his relationship with her is weakened.
Another significance of the title “Fence” is the one used an example by the playwright on Gabriel as the only one who does not have limits, and therefore, has no fence around him. In the play, Gabriel does not have limits or boundaries around him. However, Gabriel has a disability which creates a form of a fence around him. He cannot do some things that other people can do because of his disability. In contrast to the other characters, Gabriel is portrayed as a person of good spirits, always happy and contented with life.
From the foregoing, it is clear that a...